Transcript Slide 1

Using Crowdsourcing to
Engage Stakeholders and
Inform Disability Policy
Friday, March 6, 2015
11:00 AM PST
Presentation Outline
 What is ePolicyWorks?
 Changing the Way We Do Business
 Crowdsourcing for Policymakers
 NCD-ODEP Online Dialogue Series
 Dialogue Analysis & Action
 Lessons Learned
Changing the Way We Do Business
 The New Federal Government: Open, Transparent and
Participatory
- Expanding Beyond Information Sharing to Policy Development
 BORPSAT  BORPSAVT
 Why are we taking a seat at the Virtual table?
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Much bigger
Less reliant on logistics
More accessible
Much cheaper
Available all day
Better data
Open, Transparent, Participatory…
…and Inclusive
 Inaccessible technology can exclude large segments
of our constituency
 Educate technology providers about developing
accessible products
 Encourage policymakers to demand and use
accessible products
What is ePolicyWorks?
 A new, collaborative approach to federal policymaking that
leverages Web-based technology, stakeholder involvement and
real-time information sharing
 Empowers national experts to shape policy and address specific
barriers to employment faced by people with disabilities
 Establishes a model for future national policy-building efforts
 Serves to support the federal government’s pledge to modernize
government, heighten transparency and maximize efficiency
 Access to productivity and crowdsourcing tools, including online
workspaces and dialogues
What is Crowdsourcing?
 Coined by journalist Jeff Howe in the 2006 Wired article,
“The Rise of Crowdsourcing”
 Crowdsourcing is the practice of soliciting ideas or
contributions from stakeholders to solve problems, make
decisions, etc. using online tools
 Commonly referred to as “online dialogues” or “virtual
town halls”
 Connects agencies to stakeholders/constituents
 Provides cost benefits and efficiencies
 Serves as an outreach and awareness tool
How Does Crowdsourcing Work?
 Decide on the issue and present the ideation challenge to
stakeholders through targeted outreach
 Set up a participatory, self-moderated community and decide on
the timeline for participation
 Upon registering with usernames and passwords, visitors to the
dialogue submit ideas
 Visitors also vote and post comments, as well as communicate the
status of an idea through email, Twitter or Facebook
 Moderators interact directly with the community that is formed
around the ideas
 The “best” ideas bubble up
 Results provided at close of event for analyzing and next steps
Why Crowdsourcing for Policymakers?
 To gather feedback and ideas from stakeholders to
inform policymaking
 Easier, cheaper, faster, more flexible than
traditional tactics
 Encourages interactivity (submitting, voting,
commenting)
 Expands reach
 Promotes transparency
 Allows flexibility in engagements (“one-and-done"
or multiple)
 Produces quantitative and qualitative data
Turning Input into Action
Dialogue
Results/Data
Analysis
Action
National Council on Disability (NCD)
 Who are we?
 Independent federal agency charged with advising the President, Congress,
and other federal agencies regarding policies, programs, practices, and
procedures that affect people with disabilities
 Comprised of a team of Presidential and Congressional appointees, an
Executive Director appointed by the Chairman, and eleven, full-time
professional staff
 What is our mission?
 To be a trusted advisor, in collaboration with people with disabilities to the
President, Congress, federal agencies, state and local governments and
others.
National Council on Disability (NCD)
 How do we accomplish our mission?
 Convene stakeholders to acquire timely and relevant
input for recommendations and action steps
 Gather and analyze data and other information
 Engage and influence current debates and agendas
 Identify and formulate solutions to emerging and longstanding challenges
 Provide tools to facilitate effective implementation
Why Crowdsourcing for NCD?
 Opportunity to team up with DOL’s ODEP
 Offered an accessible, efficient and modern
practice for accomplishing our mission
 Provided forum to gather insightful ideas and
comments from key stakeholders to better inform
policy recommendations
ePolicyWorks Online Dialogues
NCD-ODEP Dialogues – Let’s Take a Look
 NCD-ODEP Social Media Accessibility: NCDODEP.SocialMedia.ePolicyWorks.org
 379 registrants
 43 total ideas/175 comments/431 votes
 Advancing Accessibility and Inclusion in Social Media—The Tech
Experience: SocialMediaTech.ePolicyWorks.org
 206 registrants
 13 total ideas/73 comments/65 votes
 Encouraging People with Disabilities to Pursue Careers in STEM:
STEMCareersforPwD.ePolicyWorks.org
 193 registrants
 39 total ideas/139 comments/274 votes
NCD-ODEP Social Media Accessibility
 March 17 to April 4, 2014
 Questions
 What are some creative solutions you've used to make social
media more accessible for you?
 What are your recommendations to social media companies on
how to create more accessible features and services?
 Top Idea:
 Alt Text for Images on Social Media
 Accessibility is Not Just for People with Disabilities
 Increase Accessibility Awareness/Training
Top Idea & Comments
NCD-ODEP Social Media Accessibility
http://NCD-ODEP.SocialMedia.ePolicyWorks.org
NCD-ODEP The Tech Perspective
 May 12 to June 13, 2014
 Questions
 How should social media companies go about integrating these
ideas (and ones like them) into the design and development of
social media online tools and apps?
 What are the most effective ways the social media industry could
engage with the disability community for user feedback and
ideas? Please share any best practices.
 Top Ideas:
 Human Oversight for Video Closed-Captioning
 Clearly-Labeled Menu Functions
 Maintenance
Top Idea & Comments
Advancing Accessibility and Inclusion in
Social Media—The Tech Experience
http://SocialMediaTech.ePolicyWorks.org
Encouraging People with Disabilities to
Pursue Careers in STEM
July 28 to August 8, 2014
Questions:
 What can be done to encourage people with
disabilities to pursue careers in the STEM fields?
 What can be done to support the successful
employment of individuals with disabilities in the
growing STEM fields?
Top Ideas:
 Job shadowing, Internships, and Work Experience
 Allow/Encourage SWD STEM Participation in Middle &
High School
 Peer Mentor Positions in Science
Top Idea & Comments
Encouraging People with Disabilities to
Pursue Careers in STEM
http://STEMCareersforPwD.ePolicyWorks.org
Dialogue Analysis & Action
 National Disability Policy: A Progress Report, October 2014
 DOL should consider developing and disseminating a tip sheet on
developing accessible job announcements to be posted on social media
sites and other online platforms.
 DOL should explore and invest in employment opportunities for young
people with disabilities to learn skills relevant to the technology
industry, such as coding, early in their academic career, becoming
accessibility testers, getting internship and mentorship experiences in
the software game development industry and STEM careers, and
creating their own companies.
 Engagement with federal partners to ensure accessibility of
social media content
 Outreach to private sector, including publications in blogs
and articles to increase awareness about barriers to access
in social media
Other Actions
 State of the Science Conference: Knowledge
Translation for Employment Research
 GSA Internal Training
 National Science Foundation Efforts
Results & Lessons Learned
 Offered access to a larger, more diverse community
 Participation from every state
 Social media engagement provided greater reach
 Increased awareness about disability policy issues
 Engaged moderators demonstrated responsiveness and
facilitated robust, meaningful discussions
 Registration responses provided great detail of information
about participants and a better understanding of the
audience
 Continued collaboration between the NCD, ODEP, private
sector and federal partners
Questions???
Open Innovation Award
Best Engagement Strategy
 For leveraging social media outlets to
encourage contributions
 For maximizing ease of use for participants
Other ePolicyWorks Dialogues
 Connecting with Families—Supporting Postsecondary Success of Young Adults with
Disabilities: http://connectingfamiliespost2ndsuccess.epolicyworks.org/
 CIO Council’s Accessibility Community of Practice Online Dialogues:
 Federal Contractors: http://federalcontractors508.epolicyworks.org/
 Federal Procurement Community: http://federalcontractors508.epolicyworks.org/
 State Governments—What Can We Do?: http://employerdialogue.epolicyworks.org/
 Encouraging People with Disabilities to Pursue Careers in STEM:
http://stemcareersforpwd.epolicyworks.org/
 Advancing Accessibility and Inclusion in Social Media—The Tech Experience:
http://socialmediatech.epolicyworks.org/
 NCD-ODEP Social Media Accessibility: http://ncd-odep.socialmedia.epolicyworks.org
 ASAN-PEAT Improving Accessibility of Online Tools: http://asanpeatepolicyworks.ideascale.com/
 Federal Partners in Transition: http://fptepolicyworks.ideascale.com/
Connect with ePolicyWorks
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online dialogues at www.ePolicyWorks.org
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(@ePolicyWorks)
 Contact us at [email protected]